Throw-trinket encasement

ABSTRACT

A generally spherical shaped encasement having a central cavity and a slot for access thereto such that a small coin or doubloon can be inserted within the cavity of this sphere and maintained therein when the trinket is thrown. The sphere can be constructed of material which is not frangible on impact with the ground or may be an inflatable balloon-like encasement. The encasement is of such dimensions that it can be easily retrieved by hand or easily picked up from the ground by a small child.

United States Patent 11 1 1111 3,880,279 Gambel 5] Apr. 29, 1975 [541THROW'TRINKET ENCASEMENT FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS inventor?Charles Gambel 3500 21.621 11/1896 United Kingdom 2061.8

Monticello Ave., New Orleans, La. 701 18 Primary E.\'amir1erWilliam T.Dixson, Jr. 22 i 1 1972 Assistant ExaminerSteven E. Lipman Au ,.4 F C h,Db& [2]] App]. No: 307,205 cuggrrtlgn gem 0r lrm us man ar y [52] US.Cl. 206/8; 46/2; 46/87; [57] ABSTRACT 161/16; 206/523 A generallyspherical shaped encasement having a [5 l] Il'tl. Cl. AiSc 11/28 centralcavity and a Slot for access thereto Such that a [58] held of Search40/1 l 87; small coin or doubloon can be inserted within the cav- 206/146 R146 FCI'46 ity of this sphere and maintained therein when the 22.3O1161/161 H7 trinket is thrown. The sphere can be constructed of materialwhich is not frangible on impact with the [56] References cued ground ormay be an inflatable balloon-like encase- U T S S PATENTS ment. Theencasement is of such dimensions that it 2635.385 4 1953 Brown 46/87 xan be asily r tri d y hand r asily picked up 2.653.703 9/1953 Krauss206/.84 from the ground by a small child. 3.080.963 3/1963 Rothgart206/.84 3.406.746 10/1968 Abildgaard 206/46 FR x 5 Clams 2 Drawmg F'gumTI-IROW-TRINKET ENCASEMENT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of theInvention This invention relates to a trinket encasement which iscapable of receiving and holding a coin or similar article and which maybe thrown and retrieved intact by an individual, and from which the coinor similar article may be removed with ease.

2. Prior Art During parades or similar events in which a large crowdgathers along the streets of a city as the parade moves through thestreets, it is common for the various parties in the parade to throw, ina showering manner, souvenirs to the crowd. These souvenirs have specialattraction to young children for esthetic reasons, and also to adultsbecause of their value as collectors items, and are thus highly soughtafter when thrown into the crowd.

A particular type of souvenir which is thrown in many parades is adoubloon-like coin. When children and adults alike attempt to retrievethese coins from the street, their fingers and hands are often injuredas a result of the crowd scurring about to retrieve these coins. Sincethe coins land flat, it is necessary to extend ones fingers in order topick one up, leaving the hand vulnerable to being stepped on by othermembers of the crowd.

Additionally, since the coins can be thrown with considerable force andare of such a shape that they could cause considerable injury to an eyeor other portion of the head and face, some cities have consideredoutlawing the throwing of such trinkets during parades, thus removingthe danger. However, such a solution is felt not to be desireablebecause of the enjoyment by and satisfaction of individuals who manageto retrieve these various trinkets, and especially since it has become atraditional part of many parades.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention overcomes the above-describeddisadvantages of such throw trinkets by providing an encasement for thetrinkets which will allow them to be thrown in a safe manner and nothave sharp projections which would cause serious injury to an eye orother part of the head and face, and which can be easily retrieved byboth children and adults without fear of having ones fingers or handsbeing stepped on. An additional advantage of such a throw trinketencasement is that it may be easily caught in flight, unlike a coin, andthus remove the necessity of retrieving the article from the ground.

The throw trinket is comprised of a generally spherically shaped device,capable of being thrown by a person and having a central cavity thereinwith means of access thereto such that a coin or doubloon or similarsouvenir item may be temporarily received therein and will not bedislodged by throwing the device. It is made of material which will notshatter on impact and the souvenir coin may be easily removed by anindividual from the cavity through the access opening of the encasement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a pictorial view showing anembodiment of the invention with a coin positioned in the central cavitythereof.

FIG. 2 is a pictorial view showing an additional embodiment of theinvention also with a coin positioned in its central cavity.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 illustrates afirst embodiment of the throw trinket encasement in the form of a sphere10, having access opening 12 with a coin 14 inserted in a central cavity16.

The sphere 10 is preferably made of styrofoam or other similarlight-weight material approximately 2 inches in diameter. Cut along agreat circle of the sphere 10 is an access opening 12 approximatelylinches wide by 3/32 of an inch thick and extending into the sphereapproximately I-% inches. The actual dimensions of the access opening 12and the internal cavity 16 should be adjusted so as to provide a tightfriction fit between a coin or doubloon 14, which would be inserted inthe cavity 16, to prevent the coin from being dislodged from the spherewhen it is thrown and lands on the ground or is caught by an individual.

The coin is positioned on a great circle of the sphere 10 in order toprovide directional stability for the throw trinket when it is beingthrown broadcast to the crowd, although this is not essential.

In addition to the access opening 12, a groove or indentation 18 isprovided at the central portion of the opening and perpendicular theretoto allow an individual to place his fingers on either side of the coin14 to permit easy removal from the sphere 10. This may obviously beaccomplished by other means such as making the depth of the cavity lessthan the diameter of the coin so as to cause an edge of the coin toprotrude from the side of the sphere an adequate amount so that it maybe gripped by the fingers for removal.

It is an additional advantage of the above described embodiment thatafter the coin is removed from the throw trinket encasement, theencasement may be used as a toy ball for a child. Also, the surface ofthe encasement may be brightly colored and/or imprinted with designs oradvertisements of a merchant.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the invention consisting of aballoon-type casing 20 having an opening 22 in a stem portion 24. Theballoon-type member 20 should be made of rubber or similar materialwhich can be expanded into a sphere by introducing air through theopening 22 in the stem 24. The opening 22 should be of adequatedistention that a coin or doubloon 14 may be inserted therethrough intothe central portion of sphere 20.

After the doubloon is inserted in the manner above described, theballoon may be expanded and then sealed off by constricting the sternportion 24 by tying or other suitable means. This will then provide aspherical-type member 20 which may be tossed to a crowd and may becaught or retreived easily from the ground and from which the coin 14may be easily removed.

This embodiment, like the previously described embodiment, may beimprinted with a merchants advertisement and/or brightly colored.

Although the foregoing description illustrates the preferred embodimentsof the present invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in theart that variations are possible. All such variations as would beobvious to those skilled in this art are intended to be included withinthe scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A spherically shaped throw-trinket encasement for use in parades orsimilar events where it is desirable to shower coin-like objects on theattendant crowd without causing bodily injury such as lacerations due tosharp corners or edges, and for allowing the coin-like objects to beretrieved by the intended recipients with ease and reduced risk ofinjury,

said spherically shaped encasement having a central cavity therein withupper and lower internal parallel surfaces disposed apart an adequatedistance to provide a friction fit with upper and lower surfaces of acoin which may be positioned within said cavity so as to retain saidcoin when said encasement is thrown and to prevent it from separatingfrom said encasement during flight, an access slot on the surface ofsaid encasement providing an entrance to said cavity, and havingdimensions sufficient to allow said coin to be positioned within saidcavity and to be removed therefrom by the intended recipient.

2. A throw trinket encasement as defined in claim 1 wherein said accessslot is positioned along a portion of a great circle of said sphericallybody.

3. A throw trinket encasement as defined in claim 1 wherein said centralcavity is defined generally by a segment of a sphere concentric withsaid spherical body and of lesser diameter and is symmetrical about agreat circle of said spherical body.

4. A throw trinket encasement as defined in claim 1 wherein saidspherically shaped body is made of styrofoam;

said central cavity is a segment of a sphere disposed concentricallywith said spherical body, of lesser diameter, is symmetrical about agreat circle of said spherical body and of adequate width to provide afriction fit for a coin inserted therein such that it cannot be easilydislodged by throwing;

said access slot is symmetrical about the same great circle as saidcavity and of adequate dimension to allow a coin to be insertedtherethrough.

5. A throw trinket encasement as defined in claim 1 including adoubloon-like coin positioned within said cavity so as to be easilyremovable therefrom.

1. A spherically shaped throw-trinket encasement for use in parades orsimilar events where it is desirable to shower coinlike objects on theattendant crowd without causing bodily injury such as lacerations due tosharp corners or edges, and for allowing the coin-like objects to beretrieved by the intended recipients with ease and reduced risk ofinjury, said spherically shaped encasement having a central cavitytherein With upper and lower internal parallel surfaces disposed apartan adequate distance to provide a friction fit with upper and lowersurfaces of a coin which may be positioned within said cavity so as toretain said coin when said encasement is thrown and to prevent it fromseparating from said encasement during flight, an access slot on thesurface of said encasement providing an entrance to said cavity, andhaving dimensions sufficient to allow said coin to be positioned withinsaid cavity and to be removed therefrom by the intended recipient.
 2. Athrow trinket encasement as defined in claim 1 wherein said access slotis positioned along a portion of a great circle of said sphericallybody.
 3. A throw trinket encasement as defined in claim 1 wherein saidcentral cavity is defined generally by a segment of a sphere concentricwith said spherical body and of lesser diameter and is symmetrical abouta great circle of said spherical body.
 4. A throw trinket encasement asdefined in claim 1 wherein said spherically shaped body is made ofstyrofoam; said central cavity is a segment of a sphere disposedconcentrically with said spherical body, of lesser diameter, issymmetrical about a great circle of said spherical body and of adequatewidth to provide a friction fit for a coin inserted therein such that itcannot be easily dislodged by throwing; said access slot is symmetricalabout the same great circle as said cavity and of adequate dimension toallow a coin to be inserted therethrough.
 5. A throw trinket encasementas defined in claim 1 including a doubloon-like coin positioned withinsaid cavity so as to be easily removable therefrom.